Non-rotatable tube pay-off apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for paying off coiled tubular stock in a low inertia, smoothly flowing, continuous manner. The stock is pulled from a non-rotatable container and directed through an elongated, hollow guide structure having a large, open end adjacent the container, the guide structure gradually decreasing in cross sectional area to relatively small open end in the direction away from the container.

United States Patent 1 1 1 1 3,857,269 Martin Dec. 31, I974 NON-ROTATABLE TUBE PAY-OFF 2,629,566 2/1923 King gig/128 2,930,541 3 l9 Crum..... 129 APPARATUS 3,131,884 5/1964 Duff 242/128 [75] Inventor: uy E- Marti i sbu g Pa. 3,561,694 2/1971 Schuetz 242/83 Assignee: Aluminum p y of America, 3,744,734 7/1973 Lodato 242/129 Pittsburgh, Pa. Primary Examiner-C. W. Lanham [22] Filed 1973 Assistant Examiner-M. J. Keenan [21] Appl. No.: 355,886 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Elroy Strickland Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 219,641, Jan. 21, B A

1972, Pat. No. 3,765,215. [57] A STR CT An apparatus for paying off coiled tubular stock in a [52] US. Cl. 72/287, 29/429 low inertia, smoothly flowing, continuous manner. The [51] Int. Cl. B21c 1/04 stock is pulled from a non-rotatable container and di- [58] Field of Search 72/289, 287; 29/429, 433; rected through an elongated, hollow guide structure 242/78, 78.1, 78.3, 78.6, 78.8, 82, 83, 128, having a large, open end adjacent the container, the 242/ 129, 47.09 guide structure gradually decreasing in cross sectional area to relatively small open end in the direction away [56] References Cited from the container.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,449 11/1931 Swank 242/128 8 4 Drawmg guns PATENTED W33 1 1974 SHEET 10F 2 PATENTED [11583 1 1974 SHEET 2 0F 2 NON-ROTATABLE TUBE PAY-OFF APPARATUS This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 219,641, filed ,Ian. 21, 1972, now US. Pat. No. 3,765,215, issued Oct. 16, 1973.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to supplying or payingoff tubing from a non-rotatable, coiled supply thereof in a rapid, continuous and economical manner without kinking, knotting or otherwise damaging the tubing.

Heretofore, in supplying metal tubing for a particular purpose, for tube straightening or drawing purposes, for example, the practice has been to pay-off large coils of tubing from powered, motor driven, rotating devices, such as reels, baskets or'swifts in a direction generally perpendicular to the axis of the device. In this manner, the tubing is supplied without physically twisting it, the belief being that twisting the tubing would result in the kinking and knotting thereof. Paying off coils of tubing from a non-rotating supply thereof requires that each coil or loop existing between the supply and the location at which the tube attains a generally straight configuration, undergo a twist of 360 degrees, i.e., if it requires ten loops of tubing of decreasing diameters to reach a substantially straight configuration, the tube is required to twist times 360 degrees. Thus, because of the extent of the twist imperative and the concomitant belief that such twisting would result in kinking and knotting the tube, the industry has used rotating pay-off devices, with the attendant expense of costly motors and motor controls to rotate the devices.

In the use of such rotatable pay-off devices, there are, of course, no stationary ends of tubing to permit the joining thereof to an adjacent supply to tubing. Such a joining opportunity enables the provision of an uninterrupted, continuous supply of tubing for a continuous work operation, such as the continuous tube drawing process and apparatus disclosed in applicants parent application Ser. No. 219,641. In addition, with the prior practice of rotating tube supplies, the entire mass of the coiled material, plus that of the rotating device itself, is rotated, thereby requiring a substantial amount of power for accelerating and braking purposes, as well as precise synchronization of acceleration, running and braking speeds with any equipment working in conjunction with the pay-off. For example, if pay-off speed is slower than the speed of tube drawing apparatus receiving the tubing, such as shown in applicant's parent application, the tubing can be unduly stressed and broken.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for payoff of tubing in a low inertia, nonpowered, non-rotating manner, and to the surprising results obtainable with such an apparatus and method. Briefly, the invention comprises the use of a nonrotating supply or bundle of coiled tubular stock, and an elongated, hollow, tapered guide structure for receiving loops of the tubular stock as the loops are individually, serially pulled from the supply and through the guide structure. The wide end of the tapered structure is located closely adjacent the supply of tubular stock, the guide structure containing the loops such that they travel through the structure in gradually decreasing diameters until the loops disappear and the' Stock issues from thenarrow end of the structure in an essentially straight form without kinks or knots. Such results are surprising since, in traveling through the guide structure, the wall of the tube twists 360 degrees for each loop contained within the guide structure, the wall of the tube absorbing the twist and resulting stresses without detrimental effects.

A non-rotating supply of tubing has the advantage of providing a stationary tail end of the tubing for joining to the lead end of tubing of a second supply thereof for continuous operation and pay-off purposes. In addition, since the loops of tube are pulled from the supply thereof individually, the man pulling the loops need only pull the weight of those loops within and about to enter the guide structure. In this manner, a nonrotating pay-off device is a low inertia pay-off device, such a device requiring minimum power while providing almost instant acceleration to running speeds and instant braking to a stopped condition.

The apparatus of the invention provides further advantages and economies due to the fact it does not require a motor and controls for rotating large supplies of coiled stock, and the tapered guide structure makes available a ready supply of tubular stock for those processes that use stock in an intermittent manner, i.e., the stock'is contained in the guide structure in the form of spaced, low inertia coils ready for use as they are needed. Only the weight of an individual loop need be pulled to start the pay-off operation. With a supply of tubing contained in or on a powered device, however, the device has to be stopped and started for intermittent supply requirements, such stopping and starting requiring substantial power. In this regard, devices are available for accumulating tubing, but these devices themselves must be supplied by means of a power driven supply of tubing. Thus, the economies afforded by accumulator devices are not substantial over a rotating device directly feeding tubing to a process location.

THE DRAWINGS The invention, along with its advantages and objectives, will best be understood from consideration of the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the tube drawing apparatus shown and described in applicants co-pending parent application, and an embodiment of the invention for feeding tube to the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the FIG. 2 embodiment taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS rotating container or basket 14 having an open face or side 15, and containing a coiled bundle of tubing 16, the container and tubing being located at the base of a vertically disposed, hollow, tapered tower 18, the internal cross sectional area of which gradually decreases in the direction away from the container to a relatively small opening 19. The tower may be a truncated coneshaped structure, i.e., circular in cross section, or it may have a configuration in cross section other than circular. Further, the walls thereof may be solid or open, as would be provided bythe cage type of structure using only spaced slats in a frame as the side walls of the tower. The dimensions of the tower, i.e., its length (height) and maximum and minimum diameters (if a truncated cone) depend in large measure on the material, diameter andwall thickness of the tubing to be paid off. The tower should, however, be ofa length sufficient to allow loops of tubing pulled from the basket to attain a substantially straight configuration near the end of their travel through the tower, as explained in detail hereinafter. The breadth of the tower at its bottom end has to be of a size sufficient to accommodate the largest diameter of coils of the tubing bundle 16 disposed within the basket.

In operation, the tubing to be supplied from apparatus to a particular location and for a particular purpose, such as the location of apparatus 12 (FIG. 1) for tube drawing purposes, is initially threaded through the drawing apparatus, if the pay-off 10 is for this purpose, by pulling a loose end of the tubing from the open side or face 15 of the basket 14 and up through the tower 18. From the tower 18, the tube is directed over an upper guide unit located above and over the tower, and around a lower guide unit 22 before the tube enters a die box 24 containing the first die of the apparatus 12. When the tubing 16 is pulled from the basket 14 and through the open end of the tower l8, coils of the tube bundle serially lift from the basket and enter into the wide mouth of the tower, the coils stretching out to form continuous loops 26 of the tubing, as shown in FIG. I, that extend from the basket to a location adjacent the upper end of the basket in decreasing diameters.

The drawing apparatus 12 is operative to direct the tubing 16 therethrough in the tube drawing process described in the parent of the present application, and, in so doing, is operative to continuously pull loops 26 of the tubing from the basket 14 and through the tower 18 in gradually decreasing diameters until the loops disappear and the tubing leaves the tower in a substantially straight configuration. In traveling through the tower, the loops are contained by the side walls thereof, the tubing undergoing a 360 degree twist for each loop within the tower between the location of the basket and the point at which the loops disappear into a relatively straight configuration. The wall of the tubing absorbs this twist without detrimental results to allow the tubing to reach the straight configuration near the upper end of the tower without knotting or kinking.

Further, with the pay-off embodiments of the invention, bundles 16 of tubing of a range of sizes have been of coils or loops 33 in FIG. 2) is located adjacent the series of spaced, rectangular frames 36 to 42, with each frame being comprised of vertically disposed side members 44, ext'ending beneath the guide structure to floor level 45 to form legs which support the hollow structure 34 in a position above floor level, and upper and lower horizontal members 46 and 47 respectively. The rectangular frames may be strengthened by corner braces 48, which braces, in combination with the vertical and horizontal members, provide the cross section of the hollow structure with an octagon shape.

The frames 36 to 42 decrease in size in the direction away from the basket 32 in predetermined amounts, and are spaced apart at predetermined distances, chosen to contain a sufficient number of loops 33 of tubing in the pay-off process of the invention presently to be explained.

The rectangular frames are shown mechanically connected together by longitudinally extending sheets of material 50 suitably dimensioned and shaped to fit the tapered pattern established by the spaced apart frames 36 to 42, and fastened respectively to the side, horizontal and bracing members of each frame. Spaced apart slats 52 are shown located on the inside surfaces of the sheets 50, the slats extending lengthwise of the hollow structure 34. The sheets of material 50, which provide backing layers for the slats, preferably completely enclose the loop accommodating area within structure 34 for safety purposes. With an open, cage type of structure, a loose end of the tubing traveling through the structure might flip out between the slats and injure personnel working near the structure.

As indicated above, the cross section of the tube directing structures (18 and 34) of the present invention may be circular. The rectangular or octagon shape of structure 34 of FIG. 3, however, has certain operational and maintenance advantages over a circular structure. For example, a non-circular or non-rounded structure is easily fabricated from readily available wood and/or metal components, such as angle iron for the frames 36 to 42, and sheets of plywood for the backing layers 50, while the slats 52 are easily attached to the backing layers or to the frames, and easily replaced when they become worn or damaged. The material of the slats should provide a smooth surface of the loops of tube 33 so that the tube is not marred in its travel through the guide structure.

As explained above in connection with the tower 18, coils or loops of tubing 33 are pulled from tubing supply 32 and into the guide structure 34 as the leading end of the tubing is pulled from the basket and directed through the guide structure. The length and breadth dimensions of the guide structure are such that the coils of tubing undergo a 360 degree twist for each loop within the structure until the loops disappear and the tubing issues through a small opening (defined by frame 42 at the narrow end of structure 34) in a relatively straight configuration.

With proper operation of the pay-off embodments of the invention, loops of tubing 33 being pulled from the basket 14 or 32 should enter the guide structure 18 or 34 serially, i.e., one at a time to prevent entanglement of the loops with each other. To assist in this serial entry of the tube, one or more resilient means 54 can be disposed to protrude into the lower portion of the open area of the guide structure near the entry location thereof, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Such means may be inexpensive, relatively short lengths of rubber hose suitably attached to the lower member 47 of the first frame 36, as seen in FIG. 3, or to a bridge structure 55 located between the basket edge and the frame 36, the structure preferably providing a curved, pivoting skid for directing the lower portion of each loop of tubing into the guide structure. In operation, the hoses temporarily restrain the portion of the loops of tube 33 on the skid 55 as the loops leave the basket 32, while the upper portions of the loops are free to serially rotated into the mouth of the guide structure, and over and beyond the locationof the lower loop portions temporarily retained by the hoses. As the force pulling the loops becomes sufficient to overcome the resistance of the hoses, the loop immediately bearing against the hoses bends them over to permit the bottom portion of the loop to enter the guide structure, with the next loop of tubing moving into place against the hoses. With continued pulling forces applied to the loops in the guide structure, the above process continuously repeats itself until the basket 32 is empty.

In a vertically disposed, tube guiding structure, such as the tower 18 of FIG. 1, loop separating means, such as hoses 54, are not as useful as in a horizontally disposed structure since, in a vertical structure, the force of gravity is helpful in maintaining loop separation.

To assist entry of the loops 33 into the mouth of a horizontal guide structure, such as 34 of FIG. 2, the basket 32 may be tilted in the direction of the structure by suitable means (not shown). The tilt may be partial, say 45 degrees, or full, with means, such as lengths of hoses (not shown) extending into the basket to retain the coiled bundle therein, while single loops of the tubing are to be pulled therefrom.

Since the supply of tubing 32 is non-rotating, and since the loops 33 are pulled therefrom one at a time, the present invention provides a low inertia pay-off in that the weight of each loop is negligible in comparison to the total weight of the supply bundle and basket. Such a pay off, as discussed earlier, requires very little pulling power, and is substantially instantly started and stopped without power devices and controls, and without detrimental effects upon the tubing. For example, instant stopping of a device pulling the tube from supply 32 merely causes the loops of tubing within the guide structure 34 to tend to close upon one another, the inherent resiliency of the loops absorbing lost motion and returning the loops to their normal spacing within the guide structure.

Another advantage of the invention, as mentioned earlier, is the fact that a non-rotatably supply of tubing makes available a stationary tail end 58 (FIG. 4) of tubing for joining to the lead end 59 of another nonrotatable supply of tubing 60, as indicated in the plan view of FIG. 4. The joint is indicated by numeral 61, and may be effected by welding, for example. Such an availability and joining of stationary tube ends provides an endless supply of tubing for any process needing such a supply.

As shown in H6. 4, a conveyor structure 62 can be used to readily place supplied of the tubing adjacent each other and adjacent :he mouth of the guide structure 34. In this manner, joining of the stationary tube ends can be effected on the conveyor. When the basket 32, for example, is emptied of its supply of tubing, it is moved out-of-place and the supply 60 is moved into place, as indicated by the arrow lines in FIG. 4, without interruption of the pay-off process.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, the claims appended hereto are intended to encompass all embodiments which fall within the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention and certain embodiments thereof, I claim: 5 l. The method of paying off coiled tubing in a low inertia manner from a non-rotatable supply of said tubing, the method comprising the steps of providing a hollow, elongated structure having a cross sectional area that gradually decreases in a direction away from the supply of tubing to an opening of a predetermined minimum area remote from the supply, and length and breadth sufficient to allow coiled loops of said tubing being pulled therethrough to attain a relatively straight configuration near the end of their travel through said structure, serially pulling coiled loops of tubing from the supply thereof into and through said hollow structure, the coils of said tubing traveling through said elongated structure in gradually decreasing diameters towards said minimum opening, and

directing the tubing from said elongated structure in a manner that allows the tube to assume a change in direction. 2. The method of claim 1 including the additional step of joining a stationary end of said tubing to a stationary end of tubing of another non-rotating supply thereof.

3. The method of paying off coiled tubing from serially connected supplies thereof, the method comprising the steps of disposing at least two non-rotatable coiled supplies of said tubing adjacent a hollow, elongated structure having a cross sectional area that gradually decreases in a direction away from the supplies, and has a length and breadth sufficient to allow coiled loops of said tubing being pulled therethrough to attain a relatively straight configuration near the end of their travel through said structure, said supplies of tubing having ends that are stationary,

directing one end of the tubing of one of the supplies through the hollow structure,

serially pulling coiled loops of the tubing from said one supply and through said hollow structure by providing a pulling force on the one end of said tubing, and

joining the other end of the tubing of the one supply to one of the ends of the tubing of the other of said supplies to provide serially connected supplies of tubing.

4. A structure for paying off coiled tubing in a low inertia manner from a non-rotatable supply thereof, the structure comprising 5 a non-rotatable supply of coiled tubing, and

an elongated, hollow structure having one end located closely adjacent said supply for receiving coils of the tubing from said supply when the tubing is pulled from the supply and through said hollow structure, the internal, cross sectional area of said 6O hollow structure gradually decreasing in the direction away from said supply to an opening of a predetermined minimum area at the end of the hollow structure remote from said supply,

65 the length and breadth of said elongated hollow structure being such that it is capable of directing a plurality of coils of said tubing therethrough in gradually decreasing diameters to a relatively straight configuration without kinking or knotting the tubing as it is pulled through the structure.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which the non-rotating supply provides an end of the tubing that is stationary for joining to a stationary end of tubing of a second, 5

non-rotating supply thereof.

6. The structure of claim 4 in which the end of the hollow structure adjacent the supply of tubing has a width capable of accommodating at least two nonplane. 

1. The method of paying off coiled tubing in a low inertia manner from a non-rotatable supply of said tubing, the method comprising the steps of providing a hollow, elongated structure having a cross sectional area that gradually decreases in a direction away from the supply of tubing to an opening of a predetermined minimum area remote from the supply, and length and breadth sufficient to allow coiled loops of said tubing being pulled therethrough to attain a relatively straight configuration near the end of their travel through said structure, serially pulling coiled loops of tubing from the supply thereof into and through said hollow structure, the coils of said tubing traveling through said elongated structure in gradually decreasing diameters towards said minimum opening, and directing the tubing from said elongated structure in a manner that allows the tube to assume a change in direction.
 2. The method of claim 1 including the additional step of joining a stationary end of said tubing to a stationary end of tubing of another non-rotating supply thereof.
 3. The method of paying off coiled tubing from serially connected supplies thereof, the method comprising the steps of disposing at least two non-rotatable coiled supplies of said tubing adjacent a hollow, elongated structure having a cross sectional area that gradually decreases in a direction away fRom the supplies, and has a length and breadth sufficient to allow coiled loops of said tubing being pulled therethrough to attain a relatively straight configuration near the end of their travel through said structure, said supplies of tubing having ends that are stationary, directing one end of the tubing of one of the supplies through the hollow structure, serially pulling coiled loops of the tubing from said one supply and through said hollow structure by providing a pulling force on the one end of said tubing, and joining the other end of the tubing of the one supply to one of the ends of the tubing of the other of said supplies to provide serially connected supplies of tubing.
 4. A structure for paying off coiled tubing in a low inertia manner from a non-rotatable supply thereof, the structure comprising a non-rotatable supply of coiled tubing, and an elongated, hollow structure having one end located closely adjacent said supply for receiving coils of the tubing from said supply when the tubing is pulled from the supply and through said hollow structure, the internal, cross sectional area of said hollow structure gradually decreasing in the direction away from said supply to an opening of a predetermined minimum area at the end of the hollow structure remote from said supply, the length and breadth of said elongated hollow structure being such that it is capable of directing a plurality of coils of said tubing therethrough in gradually decreasing diameters to a relatively straight configuration without kinking or knotting the tubing as it is pulled through the structure.
 5. The structure of claim 4 in which the non-rotating supply provides an end of the tubing that is stationary for joining to a stationary end of tubing of a second, non-rotating supply thereof.
 6. The structure of claim 4 in which the end of the hollow structure adjacent the supply of tubing has a width capable of accommodating at least two non-rotatable supplies of tubing.
 7. The structure of claim 4 in which the elongated hollow structure is disposed vertically over the supply of coiled tubing.
 8. The structure of claim 4 in which the elongated, hollow structure is located in a substantially horizontal plane. 